AMES (The Academy for Math, Engineering and Science)

Presents
Our 2017 Pre-Season Robotics Competition

Capture
The
Flags
All local FRC teams are
invited to participate.

Saturday Dec 9th, 2017

From 10:00 until 2:00
Doors open at 9:00 for
setup and practice
5715 S. 1300 E. Salt Lake City, UT

This document describes the rules of game. Unless specified differently in this document, all
requirements for robot size, weight, bumpers, safety regulations, and allowed components are the same
as in last years official FRC competition. A copy of those requirements may be downloaded from here
https://firstfrc.blob.core.windows.net/frc2017/Manual/Sections/08-Robot.pdf. Notable differences
between our competition and the FRC rules are: (1) we dont require robots to be built new from scratch
or the software to be written new from scratch. You may re-purpose old robots and reuse old code. And
(2) we will not be doing on-site safety inspections. Teams will inspect their robots themselves prior to
coming to the event and will just show us the completed the FRC safety checklist in order to qualify for
entry.

Brief Summary

The game involves two alliances of three robots each who try to steal flags from their opponents side of
the field and bring them back to their own side. Defending robots may tag out attackers by shooting
them with ping pong balls and attacking robots may tag out defenders the same way. Robots that have
been tagged out must freeze in place for ten seconds, after which they may move once again. If a robot
is in possession of a flag when it gets tagged out then it must release its hold on the flag and back away
prior to freezing. During the time that a robot is frozen it is fair play for other robots to steal the flag that it
might have been carrying when it was tagged out. When the round ends alliances will get points for each
flag located in its flag zone. Penalty points will be awarded to the opponents alliance if a robot violates
certain rules that will be described later in this document. A significant number of points may be earned
during the first fifteen seconds of each round when robots must operate fully autonomously. Specific
details are described in the following pages.
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The Playing Field

The playing field is a rectangular area 48 ft

deep and 40 ft wide. At the near end of
each alliances half of the field is that
alliances flag zone (shown in yellowish
on this illustration) which is 5 ft deep and
which runs the full width of the playing field.
On the right side the field as viewed by
each alliance (shown in green on this
illustration) is that alliances safe path
which is 5 ft wide and which connects to
two flag zones. A line (shown in red in this
illustration) divides the playing field into two
halves.

Robot and Flag Positioning at the Start of Each Round

It is our intention at this time that each

alliance will consists of three robots, shown
here as A1, A2 and A3 for the red alliance,
and B1, B2, and B3 for the blue alliance.
We might change this later to two robots
per alliance, depending on how many
teams respond positively to our invitation to
participate.

At the start of each round, all robots will be

placed in staggered positions as shown
here, so that each robot has an
unobstructed straight-line path to one of
three flags which will be placed on the
opposite side of the field. (We might
change this to two flags on each side if we
change the alliance size to two teams
each.) This illustration is not done to scale and so it makes it look like there will be very little room for a
robot to squeeze between the opponents robots to get to the flag on the opposite side of the field.
However, the size of the real field will be much larger compared to size of the real robots than is shown
in this illustration. There will be plenty of room for an attacking robot to pass between the opponents
robots on the opposite side of the field.

Driver stations are not shown here but they will be located directly behind the starting points of the
robots, just as in a real FRC competition.

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The Floor

The floor of the playing field will not be smooth. It is made of mock cobblestone as shown below. This is
a photo of the actual playing field.

Please note that the floor where the robots will compete is surrounded by raised steps. Flags will initially
be positioned so close to the steps that it will be difficult for a typical robot to get behind the flags and
push them in the direction leading back to the robots home territory. The distance from the step to the
grab bar nearest the step will be only one foot. This is being done intentionally in order to encourage
robots to grab hold of the flag stand and pull the flag rather than just pushing it around. However there is
no rule against just pushing the flags around and were expecting that some teams will find a way to get
flags back to their home territory just by pushing it rather than pulling it despite the obstacle were placing
in their way.

Spectators will sit in the raised areas shown in the background of this photo in order to protect them from
runaway robots. However, spectators will still be at risk of being hit by stray ping pong balls. Safety
glasses are recommended for spectators, especially those sitting in the front rows.

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The Flags

Flags will be attached to rolling flag stands that have horizontal grab bars (one-inch diameter wooden
dowels) on them as shown here. Robots that grab hold of flags must grab these bars and not anything
else. Dimensions and positions of the grab bars are shown. Each team must construct a flag and flag
stand prior to the day of the competition and bring it with them to the competition. At the start of each
round each teams robot will have a straight-line path to the same flag that they made, which will be
placed on the opposite side of the field.

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Autonomous Time

Each round will last two and a half minutes. During the first fifteen seconds human players may not
control the robots. Robots must move completely under pre-programmed autonomous control. During
these fifteen seconds points will be awarded as follows:

If a robot can move into the flag zone on the opposite side of the field before autonomous time ends then
its alliance will get two points. If any part of the robot is located within the flag zone (even if other parts of
the robot are outside of it) then that robot will be counted as if it were completely within the flag zone.

If a robot can bring a flag back across the centerline and into that robots home territory before
autonomous time ends then its alliance will get two more points, in addition to the two it already earned
above. If any part of a flags stand is located within the robots home territory (even if other parts of the
stand are still on the other side) then that flag will be counted as if it were completely within the home
territory.

If a robot can position the flag in its home territorys flag zone, release its hold on the flag, and back away
so that the grab bar is no longer located within that robots bumper zone before autonomous time ends
then its alliance will get two more points, in addition to the four it already earned above. If any part of a
flags stand is located within the flag zone (even if other parts of the stand are outside of it) then that flag
will be counted as if it were completely within the flag zone.

During autonomous time robots may not tag each other out. If a robot is shot by a ping pong ball during
autonomous time, it may ignore the hit and continue on as if it had not been shot. Any collisions between
robots under conditions which would result in penalty points if they happen during tele-op time (as
described below) will not incur penalty points during autonomous time.

Tele-Op Time

After the first fifteen seconds of each round have passed, human operators will take control of the robot.
They will guide their robots to capture flags from their opponents flag zone and bring them back to their
own flag zone. Once theyve released their hold on the flag that they just brought back to their flag zone,
its fair play for their opponents to steal the flag back. Flags might get captured and recaptured many
times during each round. At the end of the two and a half minute round each alliance will get three
points for each flag that is located in their flag zone. If any part of a flags stand is located within the flag
zone (even if other parts of the stand are outside of it) then that flag will be counted as if it were
completely within the flag zone. Flags not located within a flag zone when the round ends will not count
as points for either alliance, even though they might be in the possession of a robot (i.e. in its grasp) at
that time. If a robot still has hold of a flag that is in a flag zone when the round ends, that flag counts for
points the same as any other flag in the zone. If a flag tips over then that flag will not count for points,
even if it is in a flag zone when the round ends.

It is a foul for a robot to grab hold of a flag that its opponent already has a hold of. The opponents
alliance will be awarded one point if this happens. However it is fair play to bump into the flag that an
opponent is holding. Teams should be aware that the grab bars on flag stands are higher than their
bumpers and that they extend out six inches beyond the part of the flag stand that their bumpers will hit.
Teams should ensure their robot wont be damaged in collisions with flag stands.

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It is a foul for a robot to bump into an opponents robot if that second robot is located in the first robots
flag zone or if the second robot is located in the second robots safe path. The opponents alliance will be
awarded one point if this happens. However if the opponents robot is not in a flag zone or in its safe path
then robots may bump into other robots without penalty. This is true regardless of whether or not they
are holding flags. More details about the safe paths will be given later in this document.

Tagging Out Robots (Freezing Them)

During tele-op time robots may tag each other out, causing the other robot to be frozen in place for ten
seconds, by shooting the other robot with a ping pong ball. Defenders may shoot attackers and
attackers may shoot defenders. The only exception to this is when a robot is located in a flag zone.
Robots in a flag zone (even if only part of the robot is in it) are immune from being tagged out. There is
no penalty for shooting a robot thats in a flag zone. It will just waste one of your limited number of ping
pong balls. More details about the number of ping pong balls youre allowed to preload will be given later
in this document.

If a robot has possession of a flag and its opponent shoots the flag or the flag stand rather than shooting
the robot holding or pushing the flag then the robot is not considered to be tagged out. The ball has to
hit the robot, not the flag, in order to tag it out.

If a robot that does not have hold of a flag gets tagged out then it must immediately freeze. The human
operators must release hold of the controls and step back. If they do not do this within two seconds of
the time that an official notifies them that their robot was tagged out then this will be a foul and one point
will be added to the opposing alliances score. The official will start a timer going once theyve released
hold of the controls. After ten seconds have elapsed then the human operators may step forward and
retake control of their robot.

If a robot that has hold of a flag gets tagged out then it must immediately stop, release its hold on the flag
and then back away so that the grab bars are no longer positioned anywhere within the bumper
perimeter of the robot. If the human operators do not bring their robot to a stop within two seconds of the
time that an official notifies them that their robot was tagged out then this will be a foul and one point will
be added to the opposing alliances score. The operators of robots that are tagged out while holding
flags will not immediately step back from the controls after stopping their robot but instead must
command their robot to release hold of the flag and then to move back so that no part of the grab bar is
located with their robots bumper zone. Once this is done then they will release hold of the controls and
step back. Only then will the official start the timer going. After ten seconds have elapsed, the human
players may step forward and retake control of their robot. If, during the tag out time, no other robot has
stolen away the flag which the now unfrozen robot previously had in its control, the robot may re-grab the
flag and continue on with it.

Ping Pong Ball Shooting and Handling

Each alliance will be allowed six ping pong balls to allocate however they see fit prior to the start of each
round. (If we decide to change the rules so that there are only two robots per alliance then well change
the number of allowed ping pong balls to four.) If alliances have a robot on their side thats a great
shooter then they might choose to give all of the balls to that one robot. If all of the robots on an alliance

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are good shooters then they might chose to give two balls to each robot, or more to some robots and
less to other robots. Its up to them to decide but they may not have more than six balls between them
(or four if we change things to two robots per alliance).

If a robot is capable of harvesting ping pong balls from the floor and reshooting them then it may do so in
order to get around the limit mentioned above on the total number of balls robots may be pre-loaded
with. Just keep in mind that the balls on the floor might get smashed by robots, making them difficult to
pick up and shoot a second time.

If a robot gets shot and thus frozen, it is fair play for the robot that shot it to wait nearby and shoot it
again as soon as it gets unfrozen.

Ping pong balls may not be shot with an initial velocity great enough to cause a tear in an eight and a
half by eleven inch piece of standard weight (20 lb) paper thats held by each of the long ends of the
paper and positioned six inches in front of the exit of shooting mechanism.

Flag Zones

Robots located in either one of the flag zones (even just partially within it) are immune from being tagged
out. If hit by a ball they may ignore it and continue as if they had not been hit.

Robots are also protected from being bumped into while in an opponents flag zone. If such a collision
happens then the defending robot gets a foul and the attacking robot gets a point, even if the collision
was accidental, and even if the attacker hit the defender, and even if the attacker was only partially in the
flag zone while the defender was not at all inside the flag zone.

Robots may not enter their own flag zone unless they are bringing in a flag theyve captured. When they
bring a flag into their own flag zone they must leave the flag zone within five seconds after releasing hold
of the flag. If a robot enters its own flag zone without being in possession of a flag, or if it does not leave
the flag zone within five seconds after releasing the flag that it brought in, then this will be a foul and one
point will be added to the opposing alliances score. If any part of the robot is located within the flag
zone, even though it might be just a corner of the robot, then the robot will be considered to be in the flag
zone.

Safe Paths

Because it would be easy for defense robots to physically position themselves to block attackers in order
to keep them out of their flag zone or to block them when attackers are trying to take the captured flag
back to their home, safe paths have been established on the sides of the playing field. Please note that
robots in the safe paths are not safe from being tagged out. Defenders can still shoot them and if shot
they must freeze as described above. The only thing they are safe from in the safe path is that
defenders may not position themselves in a place where a collision might occur between robots. If two
robots come into physical contact while any portion of a robot is located within its alliances safe path
(even if that robot is only partially within the safe path) then this will be a foul for the other robot and one
point will be added to the score of the alliance that owns the safe path where the contact occurred. It
does not matter who hit whom, nor does it matter which half of the playing field theyre in when they
collide, nor does it matter what direction either robot is headed when the collision occurs. The robot

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whose alliance does not own the safe path that they are in when they collide gets the foul and the robot
whose alliance does own the safe path gets a point.

It is fair play for a robot to drive partially inside and partially outside of the safe path and to intentionally
bump into a robot from the opposing alliance in order to cause the opposing alliance to get a foul which
results in the first robots alliance getting a point. Therefore, robots should stay well away from their
opponents safe path if an opponent is in or near that safe path. This also applies to collisions when one
robot is in its opponents flag zone. The attacking robot might drive partly within the flag zone and partly
outside of it, intentionally trying to collide with defending robots in an attempt to cause the defender to
get a foul which results in the attackers alliance getting a point. So again, defenders should stay well
away from attackers when the attackers are in the defenders flag zone.

Please note that no part of any robot may protrude outside of its frame perimeter at any time and
therefore it is not fair play for a robot in a safe path or in a flag zone to reach out and poke other robots
with anything other than the bumper that protects their frame perimeter. All collisions between robots
must be bumper to bumper.

Robots may enter their opponents safe path without penalty as long as no collision occurs with an
opposing alliances robot while in there.

Robots are not obligated to use their safe path when attacking or when transporting a captured flag back
home. They may take any path they want. They just run the risk that defenders can physically block
them if theyre not in the safe path.

Pushing Rather Than Pulling Flags

Robots dont have to grab hold of flags in order to move them around. It is fair play to simply push them.
Just keep in mind how were positioning the flags at the start of the round so that theyre near the barrier
at the edge of the field. Were doing this in order to make pushing them back to your home territory
difficult for a typical robot. (See the section above labelled The Floor for more details on flag
positioning.)

Also you need to know that it is not a foul for your opponents robot to grab hold of a flag that you are
pushing if you have not grabbed hold of the flag. They can simply grab hold of it and take it away from
you. (If youve got hold of it then it would be a foul for them to try doing that.)

Finally, you should know that if you are in the safe path and pushing a flag in front of you rather than
pulling it behind you then your opponent can position their robot in front of you so that their robot and the
flag collide, effectively blocking you. This is true regardless of whether you have a hold on that flag or
not. Their robot will not get a foul as long as the collision is between their robot and the flag rather than
between their robot and your robot.

Alliance Composition Changes With Each Round

As with a real FRC game, the composition of each alliance will change with each round. Officials will
decide the makeup of each rounds alliance at the start of the day. Each team should expect that they
will compete in at least five rounds as the day goes on and maybe more. If its time for a round to start

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that youre scheduled to be in but your robot isnt ready to compete then the maximum delay allowed will
be five minutes. At the end of that time if youre still not ready then your alliance must start the round
without you. You will not get any of the points that your alliance earned while your robot sat out.

Overall Scoring

At the end of each round each member of an alliance will be awarded however many points the alliance
received during that round. These points will accumulate as the day goes on and will be tallied
separately for each team as alliances change throughout the day. If a team is scheduled to participate in
a round but their robot isnt ready then they will get a zero on their tally for that round and their alliance
will have to compete with one less robot on their side.

If alliance composition throughout the day can be arranged so that all robots are scheduled for the same
number of rounds then at the end of the day whichever team has accumulated the most points wins.

If alliance composition throughout the day can not be arranged so that all robots are scheduled for the
same number of rounds then at the end of the day adjustments to the point tallies will be made. The
lowest scoring rounds for the teams who participated in the most rounds will be deleted from the tallies.
This process will be repeated until the number or rounds tallied for each team are equal. (Remember
that if youre schedule for a round but your robot isnt ready then the zero you get for that round still
counts in your overall tally.)

Some Details Youll Need For Autonomous Mode

At the beginning of each round the distance from the forward edge of each robot to the nearest grab bar
of the flag thats directly in front of it (on the opposite side of the field) will be 30 ft. Assuming that your
robot drives straight forward, takes hold of the nearest grab bar, and then drives straight backwards, the
distance that the robot will need to drag the flag in order to get the grab bar youre holding to be just
barely within your flag zone will be 40 ft. It is recommended that you drag it back a little bit further just to
be safe, but if all motion is perfectly straight then 40 ft will just barely do the job.

If you want to use vision processing together with a light on your robot to help your robot locate the flag
during autonomous mode then you may place reflective tape wherever you think best. The drawings in
the previous pages show tape placed on the pole. However, that is just a suggestion, not a rule. You
may put reflective tape at any height on the pole, and/or on the grab bar, and/or anywhere else on the
flag stand that you like.

You may not place lights on your flag pole or your flag stand because they might interfere with the vision
processing of other robots.

You may place a radio beacon on your flag stand or come up with other creative ideas for things to put
on your flag or flag stand, as long as it doesnt give off light (including infra-red or ultraviolet).

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Other Details

Dont make your flag too big because then itll be top heavy and might tip over. If a flag tips over during
the game then that flag will not be counted as a point for anyone. We made a flag stand with a four foot
pole (which is taller than will be allowed in this competition) and we put a medium size flag on it. We
found that it was very stable and did not tip over even when dragged or vigorously pushed around on our
mock cobblestone floor.

No portion of a robot other than its bumpers may protrude beyond its frame perimeter at any time during
this event. The flag stands were designed so that the bumpers of robots will fit underneath the grab bars
and the grab bars extend out far enough so that they will be within the frame perimeter of the robot when
a robots bumper touches the box-like area of the flag stand.

These rules are subject to change at the discretion of the officials, even on the day of the competition.

RSVP and Any Other Questions

Please RSVP to Douglas Hendricks dhendricks@ames-slc.org letting us know youre coming and how
many robots youll enter into the competition. Its fine to enter more than one robot per school. You just
need to make a separate flag stand for each robot that you enter and you need to tell us well in advance
how many robots youre bringing.

If you have any questions that this document failed to answer, contact Douglas Hendricks at the email
address shown above or call him in the evenings or weekends at 801-792-1421.

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